If only I could refrain from eating,the route to corruption and folly.I never deprive a mother of her sucklingsor have a share of a calf’s milk—from “If Only I Could Refrain from Eating” by Abū Al-‘Alā’ al-Ma’arrī, Translated by Salma Harland, Volume 63, Issue 4 (Winter 2022) Tell us about one of . . .
Read More
I like to play with animals, to seewhat their bodies do when twistedand probed. I like the sounds they make.I grab a toad by the throat and move itinto an O as in Open wide, love.—from “The Chimp Speaks of Cruelty,” Volume 62, Issue 2 (Summer 2021) Tell us about one of . . .
Read More
Determinant meaning within the English language exists through the electric glue of our conjunctions. Sticky tiny words like “but” and “also” define the psyche’s trajectory in a story, and stories determine our relationships and behaviors. “And” and “also” are some of the least glamorous of the transitions and are often overlooked for . . .
Read More
when the tigers break freethere is an unrestricted view of salvation but i fear this feeling of fullness—from “We Want Your Art but We Will Not Pay,” Volume 64, Issue 4 (Winter 2022) Tell us about one of the first pieces you wrote:One of the first pieces I ever worked on was The . . .
Read More
Photo credit: Jill Frank Ma speaks with her eyes focused on some faint mark on the table’s oilcloth. Hasnahena or Pāẏarā listens to the history of her naming again, after a long time. She has known it since her childhood. But, somehow, it is as though a festival celebrating her inconsequential human . . .
Read More
“I would like to open a door”—the sentence was uttered by a prisoner on death row for decades now, in San Quentin. For decades now he has not touched the handle of a door. California has repudiated capital punishment, but when Jarvis Masters was sentenced to death the gas chambers were still . . .
Read More
Editor’s note: On Wednesday, December 7, in the Paradise Room of the Smith College Conference Center, Ruth Ozeki gave a lecture titled “The Book of Form and Emptiness: Zen and the Art of Actualizing Fiction.” Provost Michael Thurston introduced the speaker, and his remarks follow here, as does Ruth Ozeki’s sabbatical report, . . .
Read More
Why settle for a beer cocktail when you can enjoy a boozy beer? As the holidays come round againAnd you gather with family and friends,Boozy beers make us merryWith malt, chocolate, cherry,And spice. Here are six I commend. 1.For a booze-infused brew you’ll repeat,Try this toffee-hued ale for a treat.From oak barrels . . .
Read More
Bill Ehrhart at Oakland Cemetery, West Chester, PA(Photo: Terry Griffith) So here I am with Smedley Butler,Major General, Maverick Marine,Old Gimlet Eye, the Stormy Petrel,two-time Medal of Honor winner;me a sergeant with a Purple Heartfor doing nothing but getting hit.(Don’t kid yourself, there’s nothingheroic in that; just bad luck.) Yet here I . . .
Read MoreNOT BETTER YET Methods of Care for the Precarious Body PANTEHA ABARESHI is a Canadian-born American multidisciplinary artist and curator. They are based in Los Angeles, California and were raised in Tucson. Abareshi was born with sickle cell zero beta thalassemia, a genetic blood disorder that causes debilitating pain, and bodily deterioration . . .
Read More